Five & Nine
by WolfBearValley
Summary: Zidane is ready to head home, but Cosmos has other plans for him. He suddenly finds himself in another land, but quickly finds a familiar face. (Contains slash. Warning.)
1. It's Not The End

_Five & Nine_

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**Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy series was created and is under copyright through Square/Square-Enix. I do not own these characters and had no influence with the original plot. The actions and portrayal of these characters are done originally, therefore I take claim only for this and future stories. Again, not the series itself (even though that'd totally be awesome!) Enjoy. **

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**It's Not The End. **

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**1**

_Just when I thought I was back home, the fat lady sung. _

_Literally._

_"Si tu ne m'aime pas, je t'aime, si je t'aime, prend garde toi!" _her voice rang throughout the whole damned place. Plump as hell with a wrack that would convince any old man she was worth loving. Heh, I hardly say this, but she was totally not my type.

I browsed through the open field, catching the eye of all the townspeople who gave me, or the tail, feverish glances. Some even ran, the kids mostly. It was unbearably difficult to keep going without finding some directions to. . .well, wherever I was. I stopped by a pub and lifted the shutter door open before once again becoming everyone's own personal peep show.

"No animals. Someone get this animal out of here!"

"What? Hey, I'm no animal!" I roared at the man behind the counter. He stepped back and gulped. "I-I'm sorry sir. . .I didn't realize-"

"Yeah. Right, it's fine." I gritted my teeth some and approached him, not forgetting to slip my tail around my waist to attempt any further "accusations."

"Can you tell me where I'm at right now?"

"You don't know?" he responded puzzled. "You're in Jachol, my dear sir."

I raised a brow. "Jachol?" The name didn't ring a bell, and I was a professional at catching onto cities and landmarks inside Gaia. I tossed him another glance and crossed my arms. "How do I get to Alexandria from here?"

"Excuse me? To where?"

"Alexandria." I repeated, sighing. "You know, Mist Continent?" I scratched my head and stared around, noticing that the machines running nearby had no mist steaming out of them.

"We have no Mist Continent, sir. Are you feeling well?"

"Hanging on a limb, here." I scoffed at his response and cast my arm at him. "Thanks anyways." I caught him nod his head before pushing myself back outside, staring at the sky that was bright and kind of green. It didn't even smell the same, now that I thought about it. I figured Cosmos knew us well enough to determine what home was, but I guess even Goddesses get it wrong sometime.

_"Bartz, is that you?"_

I turned my head and followed my eyes toward that voice. That unfamiliar voice. A deep, but sort of not so deep voice. It's owner was some guy in what looked like pirate clothing. I shook my head.

"Not Bartz. Zidane Tribal." I corrected her. "I know the guy though." his face popped up in my mind for a moment. He crossed over to me and sighed.

"My mind must be rationing on air. Everyone looks the same in this silly trollop of a town." He stared at me. "You know a Bartz?" His hand finally lifted off of that sword to his side.

"Yeah, of course." I smiled and propped my hand out slightly above my head, indicating his size. "He's about this tall, hair not too long, and he's a fan of tights for some reason."

He tilted his head for a moment and laughed.

"We must know the same person then." He reached his hand out to shake mine, and I grasped his hand quickly, shaking it.

"Faris."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Zidane."

"Zidane? Where might I ask that you be living?"

"Well Lindblum for awhile." I replied, returning my arm to it's side before slipping my dagger out of it's holster and into the air to ease my frustration, catching it quickly. "Alexandria is where I'm from. The guy over there claimed he didn't know the place at all, though." I nudged my head at the pub next door.

"Aye." he shook his head. "That's because there is no such place." he turned away for a second and sighed. "Do you have a minute to spare a story you could tell?"

We finally decided to take refuge in the pub again, and I sat down to straighten out my thoughts. He was curious to know how Bartz and I met, and as reluctant as I was to share the details, I needed answers. So I talked on about Cosmos and Chaos and how we all kind of came together to situate peace and what not. Surprisingly that didn't draw a single laugh from the fella. He just continued to nod and took everything in. That's when my eyes instinctively pooled themselves down to that chest region, noticing quickly that his breastplate was pushing out a good inch. Apparently he noticed.

"Looking for some sisters?" he chuckled and sighed.

"Aye. I am female. Your eyes have just been warned."

I blushed for a second, before dropping my head. Man, I felt stupid, but the indicator of estrogen once again set me off the chain. I peeked again anyways. She grunted and shifted herself slightly. "He was reported to be around the area. That's why I'm visiting Jachol." Her eyes crossed mine again before slipping her finger past the hilt to her blade, raising it from it's sheath just slightly. "Your eyes. They test me."

I coughed and nodded. "Yeah, uh, Sorry."

_"Monster!"_ a woman's voice shot out from outside. We both got up instantly and Faris shot through the door with me quickly towing behind her. Behemoths. Man, these guys are natives too apparently. Three of them.

They roared and frightened all of the citizens behind houses and buildings. That made it easier to not worry about accidental fatalities, but the moment I even thought about reaching for my dagger, Faris already whipped out that sword.

"Hngh! Can you fight!?" she looked at me, bracing her sword against the fangs of the beast before pushing it back some.

"Yeah, I got this!" I smirked and reached around my belt to secure two daggers in each hands, vaulting into the air before shooting them down at the head of the second beast, followed by another two daggers, pushing the Behemoth out the way. Tempest wasn't enough though. No, these guys were made out of something a little harder then the usual.

"It will take more than the effort of a few daggers, Zidane." she jumped down beside me and huffed. I caught her arm reaching inside her coat for what looked like red glass. A shard, maybe. It shined and suddenly her clothes changed into what looked like a coat. She rushed in for the Behemoth she was struggling with and bent down to punch at the ground. I felt the tremor immediately and jumped. An earthquake!? Who was this woman? These questions had to wait, and I didn't feel reluctant anymore to let go of the chance to use trance.

I shifted emotions together and growled at the Behemoth who was struggling to stay on it's feet, feeling the energy circulate through my fingers before letting the lightning fly, crashing down on it's massive head before unsheathing my blades to engulf the behemoth in heavy rain. Finally the damned thing towered over and fell, but not before roaring and raising it's head into the air.

"Damn! They must be killed sooner than this!" Faris shouted, her speech leading way to a large piece of rock, almost like a comet pummeling straight for us.

_"Don't worry! I got this!" _a body jumped in front of me and Faris, raising two swords in the air before I heard the stranger in the armor struggle, grunting as the burning rock pushed him deeper into the ground. I quickly took that moment to jump past the guy's shoulders, spiraling into the rock as the heat meshed into my head, but it was tolerable. Enough to break it at least, but not enough to avoid the second Behemoth's fucking claw that rammed itself into my back. I felt the air punch completely from my lungs and flew down into the dirt.

"Zidane! Stay still!" the voice shouted. "Going for a finisher! Faris, Necromancer!"

I shifted my hand and managed to catch Faris' clothes change again, wearing a large headpiece while the man in the armor changed, _Bartz_, and materialized some armored mask over his face. It had to be Bartz!

Faris casted what looked like a spazzed out version of Blizzard and Bartz jumped in front of each attack to a deliver a massive strike down the last two Behemoths, making mincemeat out of their heads before they tried to summon another damned meteor.

"Huh. Monsters. Can you believe it?"

"Where have you been?" Faris rang in her voice, slightly irritated, while reaching down to pull me up, offering me a bottle that looked like an potion. I took it quickly. Man, it helped.

"Thanks.." I sighed.

"Don't mention it. You're a fair fighter." she smiled briefly. Her eyes darted over to Bartz and she scoffed. "Waiting till the punches fly to make an entrance, Klauser?"

"I didn't even know you guys were in the area." he rose his arms in front of him, grinning wildly. "Much less Tribal here." he tossed me a wink. "The stink of those things got me running."

"Lenna has been asking for you. Will you come with me to visit her?"

Bartz nodded at her before turning his gaze back to me. "I have a few things to go over with this guy, first. Go ahead and I'll catch up."

Faris shoved her hand into the air before exiting the village quickly.

"What are you doing in my parts, monkey boy?"

I glanced at him, scoffing. "I figured you had the answers." That made him smile enough to pat my back, pushing me back into the bar. "Let's discuss."


	2. Fragments

_Five & Nine_

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**Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy series was created and is under copyright through Square/Square-Enix. I do not own these characters and had no influence with the original plot. The actions and portrayal of these characters are done originally, therefore I take claim only for this and future stories. Again, not the series itself (even though that'd totally be awesome!) Enjoy. **

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**Fragments**

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**2**

_We got to thinking. Or maybe not so much. Really, we got to drinking. _

_Bartz totally made me forget how human I wasn't._

"So you met Faris, huh." he asked me, casting his eyes to and from my direction while swinging his empty shot glass one too many times. I cradled my fingers gently around my own before downing it completely, letting the tinge of alcohol burn the back of my throat but otherwise nothing terrible hit me.

_Too much elixir can ruin a fella. Thanks for the warning, old man._

"I wouldn't say met.." I smiled at him before pushing the glass aside. "But amongst other things, she seems like a fair lady."

"She can fool the heck out of a guy." he grinned. I watched his hand barrel the glass over to the side of the table before swinging my hand over to stop it.

"Can't hold down that much, huh?"

"You know how it's been, man." Bartz groaned and slapped his forehead against his edge of the table. "One doozy after another. I'm beat."

"Well I can't argue there. I stood up and lightly patted his shoulder before crossing both arms over my chest. The question still remained rampant in my head, and it started with "why" and ended with "here?"

"Hey. You going some're?" he slurred, and I felt his cool hand wrap around my wrist. I smiled and shrugged. "Sooner I get moving, the sooner I'll have some answers."

"Aw, screw it monkey boy." he pouted and pulled me over to him. "Just stay here. I'm sure we can provide for ya."

"It'd be kind of cool.." I admitted slightly. "But I kind of have a few things back home that I need to check up on." Her face flashed in my mind, causing my heart to drop. She was probably giving Beatrix a run for her money. I couldn't help but gulp.

"Then at least consider it and stay the night while we think." he rose out of the stool and harbored against me for a second for propping himself down on two legs. I couldn't help but scoff at his intolerance for too much drink.

"Yeah. You look a mess." I grinned and helped him out the door before sneaking past the random towns person, coming across an old inn. We just about had ourselves a room before Bartz decided that the inn keeper's true color of choice was vomit.

_"You'd best get out of here if you know what's good for you!"_

"Yeah, I got it! Thanks!" I shouted bitterly at him and dragged the downed ally of mine down the road while catching some of the men nearby pointing and snickering at us. I branded my dagger out and flashed it at them with a glare. They shifted their attention to each other; I grunted and reached through my pockets. _Moogle Flute. _Wouldn't help here.

I groaned and pushed Bartz to take a seat on the ground outside town while digging through my inventory some. Spare change and some phoenix downs. Wouldn't help unless Bartz died from an overdose. That almost wasn't funny, I stared at him cautiously.

"Hey Bartz. Do you have a tent or something?" I murmured to him slightly, letting him ponder while his throat let out consistent groans. "Uhh...Yeah maybe I dunno, check." he lifted that veil cloak around his waist and pulled out the silver fragment of item. I looked at it and gleamed at the silver lining.

"Let's set up camp."

It took a minute to get a fire started, but I pulled back up inside the tent to a bare-chested fella with his head reeled back against the corner. Silently I crossed over to him before his eyes opened and I caught his smile.

"So what's keeping you over there?" he muttered before raising his arms, heaving a sharp yawn. "That princess you kept mentioning?"

"Yeah, something like that." I rubbed my arm.

"I have one of my own, you know." he replied quickly, sprawling his legs out beside me while his head collapsed against the folded piece of tent behind him. "She's really pretty."

Offering a subtle smug stare, and I dropped down to my rear while pressing both knees to my chest. "I bet she is." I sighed. "The women here are pretty decent."

"Yeah, I guess." Bartz tilted his head and rolled his eyes. I heard him grunt before his hand reached in to tug at the jabot clutched around my neck. My eyes instantly traced his fingers. "Uh..?"

"Just relax...Fire's getting kind of hot, yeah?"

"I can put it out." My head shot at the flames sparkling behind the concealed tent flap. It wasn't _that _warm.

"Why bother? Just get comfortable, why don't ya?" he smirked, a sense of accomplishment blazing in his eyes after freeing my neck of the lace. Then he began working on the vest before I gripped his wrist. "What's going on?" I asked, frowning.

"Zidane." he scoffed and hissed my name out before pushing himself in front of me, causing my eyes to widen. I felt weight press my back up against the dirt, I gently attempted to push him away before catching him snicker. "I figured you wouldn't mind."

"Yeah. With girls or something." I shot back, feeling my cheeks start to heat up a bit.

"You're saying you're not like that. then?"

"I'm not against it." I mumbled. It was true. It brought up one of the many old conversations Vivi and I used to have. "I can't say I roll that way, though."

"Never curious?" Bartz sighed and pushed his nose against my ear. I huffed and pushed him back before the crazy guy grabbed at my hair and I felt another pair of lips lathered against mine. Multiple times. My eyebrows shifted, and on cue that hint of "curiosity" pecked him right back. I caught him chuckle for a second before feeling his hand travel through my shirt. He quickly found out the secret to my standard attire, but it was the moment that he got to my pants that I sheltered his wandering hand with my grip.

"I really think this should stop."

"Making you uncomfortable?"

"Yeah, kind of." I looked off to the side, not wanting to absolutely derail the guy. I didn't know what he had in mind, but the bulge resting against my knee gave me warning signals.

"Can I make you comfortable?"

I stared at him for a second, noticing that he looked completely serious. A sigh quickly reflected off of my confused thoughts, and I reached in to pull him to me. I heard his faint breathing against my neck and thought about it for a second.

"We're always going to be great friends." I clutched him a little tighter.

"I mean, I can't exactly forget you." A rumble of laughter caused the guy on top of me to shake before he pulled away and smiled. "So I guess the crush thing is just going to have to wait."

"Afraid so." I nodded. "Unless it's fate."

"Fate" he repeated. I caught him close his eyes for a second. He lifted himself up off the ground and pushed the entrance to the tent open slightly.

"I'll never forget you, Zidane." Bartz smiled briefly. "Go make your princess happy."

I sat up quickly and groaned, reaching for him. "Wait, what? No, Bartz. You have to help me!" He shook his head and slipped outside, and before I could even chase him down, I realized that there was nothing to chase.

I was alone.

_"Bartz!" _I shouted.

The light of the town flickered just barely, but everything around the tent was dead silent.

"Bartz!"

"Bartz, come on!"

..._Bartz! _

_"Zidane."_ a voice replied calmly, soft hands slowly pressing against my shoulders. The tent disappeared quickly, followed by everything else. It all slowly became clear and shiny, like crystal.

"At times we are plagued by the possibility of what could have been." Cosmos replied gently before letting go, walking in front of me slowly. "But you can't question your friendship with him. It was what kept you both alive."

"What was this all about!" I yelled at her, almost feeling upset like it was another test waiting to be dropped on me. "You just going to tell me that none of this was real, or what?"

"It was very real." she replied. I felt her eyes pierce through me.

"Both of your crystals bonded. Your emotions aren't to be forgotten. His memories fragmented into yours, and this vision that you felt took place was a combination of yours as well as his."

"Then why did he—" I bit my lip and sighed. I stared at the goddess and grinned. I suddenly realized that what I felt he had for me was the other way around.

"Guess you got me."

"Good-bye Zidane Tribal." Cosmos whispered, disappearing into mist that quickly shrouded my vision. My thoughts along with it. I felt light.

My eyes shot open.

_"Well if it ain't Sleeping Beauty!" _

"Oh! Zidane!"

I rose up slightly with a sharp groan, feeling arms wrap around my back tightly. I felt her sob against my chest and sighed. Cinna looked at me and shrugged while Baku examined me closely.

"You were out like a light, boy."

"It sure does feel like it." I rubbed at Garnet's side slightly before accidentally adjusting my fingers down a little too close to that firm rear.

Surprisingly she didn't respond. Just kept crying.

I smirked.

"Don't worry Princess." I smiled, patting her back softly. "I'm home."

XXXX

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A/N: A little something I thought up a few nights ago after reliving Dissidia in a dream. Really nice slash couple here. I would really like to develop on this in the future. What are your thoughts? Thank you for reading and send reviews!


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